There has been an ever increasing demand for electrical power by many types of users. This increase in demand has also greatly increased the consumption of fossil fuels, coal and other exhaustible materials in generating the electrical power. In addition, alternative power generators that rely upon renewable energy sources, such as, solar, wind, and water flow, are being designed and improved to better meet the electrical power demands, while reducing the reliance on the exhaustible materials. Sole reliance upon either the exhaustible materials or the renewable energy sources, however, is typically not desirable because of the financial cost and adverse environmental impact caused by the consumption of the exhaustible materials and the random unavailability of the renewable energy sources. As such, many consumers rely upon electrical power generated from a combination of exhaustible materials and renewable energy sources. These types of consumers typically receive electrical power generated from the renewable energy sources when that electrical power is available and from the exhaustible materials when electrical power generated from the renewable energy sources is not available, for instance, when there is insufficient sunlight or wind.
Although the approach discussed above is feasible for small scale consumers considered individually or in relatively small groups, this approach may not be feasible when considered for a relatively large group of consumers. For example, instances may occur where there is insufficient production of electrical power from the renewable energy sources, which may overburden exhaustible material consuming power plants. Other instances may occur in which the exhaustible material consuming power plants are generating excessive amounts of electrical power to meet demands due to relatively large amounts of electrical power being generated from renewable energy sources.